The 'Victory Train' has begun its journey across Belarus
Since the early morning, local residents, schoolchildren, city guests, and all those concerned about the Great Patriotic War have gathered in anticipation of the opening of the mobile museum.
The significance of this event was noted by **Viktor Kolochev, First Deputy Chairman of the Orsha District Executive Committee**. Last year, about 2,000 Orsha residents were able to get acquainted with the unique project. This year, no fewer visitors are expected, as interest in it is not waning, he is convinced:
- Currently, many are trying to rewrite the history of the Great Patriotic War. Our task is to convey to the younger generation the truth about the great feat of partisans and underground fighters, soldiers and officers, civilians – everyone who forged the Great Victory. It is pleasant to see a lot of young people here – grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the victors. On such days, we are always together, and we will not give our victory to anyone!
Viktor Kolochev also noted that much is being done in Belarus, including in the Orsha district, to perpetuate the memory of heroes. A significant event in the current anniversary year for the district center will be the opening of a new museum named after Konstantin Zaslonov. "This will be a tribute to the great brigade commander. In addition to the hall dedicated to him, there will be expositions on the contribution of the district's residents to the common victory, and on internationalist soldiers. This museum will become a center for patriotic education and a point of attraction for everyone interested in the theme of war," he is convinced.
Among the many visitors eager to enter the museum, schoolchildren stand out in bright groups. The age restriction is 12 years and older. This becomes understandable once you are inside the museum, shares his impressions Alexander Gorbanov, a third-year student at the Orsha Railway College. For the second year in a row, he has been involved in the project as a volunteer and is very happy about it:
- Everything is done very realistically. Every visitor fully experiences the "effect of presence." It touches the soul so much that it gives you goosebumps. The most powerful impressions for me, and for most people, are evoked by the concentration camp car, where the scene recreated by the authors is incredibly moving. One realizes how terrible the conditions for prisoners were, how frightening it was. Even now, visiting the train for the second time, it evokes a storm of emotions, the feelings do not fade. I enter, and as if for the first time, I am immersed again in the pages of history, our heritage. I am sure that every person leaving the train feels pride for the feat of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers, the value of their gift – a peaceful sky over our country. That is why no excursion passes without tears.
87-year-old Viktor Yuranov, who has just come from an excursion, agrees with the young guide. At the age of six, along with his parents and three sisters, he was taken prisoner and transported to Auschwitz in a car similar to the one in the train, and was held in other concentration camps. Then came liberation, return to the homeland, the period of country restoration, and the national economy, recalls the veteran:
- I saw everything myself and experienced all these horrors. Such projects are absolutely necessary for the youth. They help to more deeply understand the tragedy that our people had to endure. New generations must know how terrible it really was, so that such events never happen again.
His words echo the thoughts of veteran Zinaida Kontanistova, who lived for 90 days in besieged Leningrad in her youth. With tears in her eyes, the woman looks around the well-kept station, the blooming greenery, the smiling faces of the townspeople, and returns to reality:
- We have a peaceful life, may God grant that our land will not know war again, and thank you to our President for trying to ensure that everything is good for us.
The route of the second "Victory Train" journey will cover 17 cities of Belarus and will last for a month. It will be seen in Orsha, Polotsk, Vitebsk, Krichev, Zhlobin, Osipovichi, Baranovichi, Luninets, Pinsk, Brest, Grodno, Kalinkovichi, Gomel, Mogilev, Bobruisk, Soligorsk, and Minsk. The schedule is timed to coincide with national holidays and memorable dates. For example, the "Victory Train" will arrive in Brest on June 21, on the eve of the Day of National Remembrance of the Victims of the Great Patriotic War and the Genocide of the Belarusian People. In Mogilev, the exhibition will be located on June 28, the Day of the city's liberation from the Nazi invaders. The tour of Belarus will conclude in Minsk during the celebration of the Independence Day of the Republic of Belarus.
The "Victory Train" is a large-scale historical and educational project created in the Russian Federation. In Belarus, in 2022, it is being implemented on the initiative of Belarusian Railways in cooperation with JSC Russian Railways as part of the Year of Historical Memory. The project is supported by the Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus and actively assisted by the Republican Volunteer Center. Last year, more than 25,000 residents of Belarus visited the mobile museum exhibition, as reported by Belarusian Railways. There is no doubt that this time its arrival will be a significant event for each of the settlements, as letters requesting to bring the project to their city continue to arrive to the organizers from all corners of Belarus and Russia.
The project is a unique interactive exhibition based on the "presence effect," dedicated to the feat of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War, and created on the basis of carriages of a mobile exhibition and lecture complex. Visitors to the mobile museum will experience a unique journey with full immersion into the events of the Great Patriotic War, created using modern technologies. The "Victory Train" consists of 9 exhibition carriages, one of which is dedicated to the feat of the defenders of the Brest Fortress - the participants of the heroic defense, soldiers and commanders of the Red Army.
The exhibition is based on three-dimensional panoramas: picturesque canvases, life-size models, and multi-object arrangements at arm's length.
The route through the "Victory Train" is a transition from one episode to another. Pre-war years – the Great Patriotic War – Victory. To date, there are no such number of multi-figure compositions in sculpture in museums around the world.
All solutions used in the exhibition allow us to show the scale of events and present the feat of the Soviet people.
The "Victory Train" project is social, both in the Russian Federation and in the Republic of Belarus. The exhibition is open from 10:00 to 20:00, with a break from 14:00 to 15:00. The exhibition is recommended for adults and children over 12 years of age.
"SB".